Chapter 42: MacGuire's

MacGuire’s was packed – after all, it was a Friday night. The guys donned their ball caps, and followed Julianna into the bar. Richie’s eyes automatically scanned for a stage. He couldn’t help it. Jamming with local talent was one of his favorite ways to unwind after working hard all day. He wasn’t disappointed. Set up opposite the door, at the back of the room, was a stage complete with drums, piano, and a guitar. The band must be on break. He regretted not bringing his Strat with him; he usually brought it whenever the boys went out on the town.

Julianna looked around nervously and finally relaxed when she spied her brothers seated at a large table in the back by the stage. She led the way toward them. Heads turned as they went past, but nobody seemed to be really paying attention to them. Julianna’s brothers rose to greet her as she approached. Nicky reached her first.

‘You okay? I’m so glad you came out.” Nick gave her a hug, and peck on the cheek. Julianna nodded. Holding her at arm’s length, he studied her face. “I thought you had a full mad on yesterday. What happened? You don’t get over things this quickly – where’d it go?”

“I had some help in working through it.” Julianna winked at Richie. At Nick’s shocked expression, Julianna laughed and blushed prettily. “Shut up, you perv; he let me beat the shit out of him until I could hardly stand. Then for a day and a half, we literally made some beautiful music together. Now, here I am with quite a large collection of good-looking men. How could I possibly not be okay?”

Nick laughed, hugged Julianna again, and shook Richie’s hand. “Thanks, for your help man. You sure worked magic with her.” He shook his head. “I wasn’t looking forward to having Miss Cranky Pants around for the night. G said she sounded fine, when he talked to her earlier tonight, but I didn’t believe him.”

“Believe me, it was my pleasure,” Richie answered, his voice dripping with double-meaning. “I’ve gotta say, your sister in full-on mad mode is scary – glad I could help.”

“Bite me, Sambora,” Julianna grouched, sticking her tongue out at him.

“Later,” he promised, with a lecherous grin.

The group settled around the table, and ordered a couple more pitchers of beer, and an assortment of fried goodies. Everything came out quickly. “This place is great,” Jon commented, his mouth full of onion rings. He looked at Sal, who was seated to his right. “Is this a regular spot for you guys?”

Sal grinned. “Well, yeah, seeing as how it’s my father-in-law’s place. We come here a couple times a month to unwind. We don’t come more often, because Da won’t let us pay, and we don’t want to take advantage. But, when Julianna said you guys wanted to go out tonight, we couldn’t think of a better place to start than with family.”

“You guys have a lot of family in the area?”

“Oh yeah, we’re all over the place around here.” Sal chuckled. “Sort of the problem of being part of a big family; sometimes you just can’t get away from it, you know?” Jon nodded. Sal continued, casting a sidelong glance at Julianna first. “But, on the flip side, we have such an extensive support network; we can get nearly anything we need, from the physical to the spiritual, pretty much whenever we need it. We’re truly blessed.”

“I hear that,” Jon agreed. His family was the same way. When his own marriage fell apart, his family rallied around him, offering unconditional love and support. Julianna was one lucky lady.

Scanning the others at the table, Jon rested his eyes on Julianna and Richie. Richie had his arm draped across the back of Julianna’s chair, and the two were engaged in conversation with Nicky. It did his heart good to see Richie happy again. As if he could tell Jon was looking at him, Richie turned and met his friend’s eyes. Jon raised his glass in salute, making his friend smile and nod.

A very large, very Irish man approached their table. He was built like a wrestler, complete with a nose that had been broken more than once, a thick neck, and tattoos covering his forearms. Julianna jumped up and squealed when she saw him. She launched herself into his arms. “Da!” she said. “It’s so good to see you!”

“It’s been far too long, my sweet girl,” he said with a thick brogue, spinning her around, kissing her cheeks, and dropping her to her feet. “I’m so glad to see you out and about. Now tell me, my girl, who are your friends?”

Julianna turned back to the table. “Guys, this is Sal’s father-in-law, my surrogate uncle, and owner of this fine establishment, Devlin Patrick MacGuire. Da, these are new friends, Rich, Jon, Tico, and Dave.” The men exchanged handshakes.

“Glad to meet you. I’m ‘Mac’ to my friends,” Devlin said, “and any friends of my shining Jewel here are friends of mine. How’s everything, then? Will you be needing anything more?”

“No, Da,” Julianna answered, “we’re good. We’re starting a crawl, and wanted my brothers to join us, so here we are, enjoying your hospitality.”

Mac frowned. “You’re crawling? Who’s driving?”

Julianna laughed. “Da, we have a car service tonight; you don’t have to worry about us.”

“Girl, it isn’t you I’m worried about; it’s me. God forbid anything happened to you after drinking in my pub, your mother would skin me alive, and your father would roast me in his kitchen.” He shuddered. “Let me know if there’s anything you need.”

Julianna sat back down as Mac exchanged words with each of her brothers. “God,” she said to Richie, “I love that man. He’s been friends with my father since they were young. It tickled them to no end when Sal fell for Maeve. She gave him a run for his money, though; she didn’t want to marry someone her father approved of. But, the Cavanaugh Charm won out in the end.” She winked at him. “Be warned – it usually does; we usually get what we want.”

Julianna’s brothers were all standing with Mac, who was gesturing to the stage. The three nodded, and Gianni led them up. Taking a seat at the piano, he started a round of Irish drinking songs. The others lent their voices to Gianni’s; pouring on a thick brogue. The three brothers sounded great. The fact they had already put away a pitcher or two of beer only made them sing louder and prouder. Julianna raised her glass and sang along, her voice meshing in with theirs, brogue and all. The guys were all entertained and clapped and sang along with the crowd.

Looking around, Jon noticed nobody was paying any attention to them. They could just relax and enjoy the atmosphere; Julianna was good for them all.

After another rousing round of drinking songs, Gianni motioned to his sister. Addressing the crowd, he said, “Are you all ready for a good cry?” The audience responded with a resounding “Hell, yes!” Gianni laughed. “Then get out your hankies; Jules is coming up to sing for you.”

Julianna drained her glass, and a bit self-consciously took the stage. She brought the microphone to center stage. “G,” she said, “give me the notes.” Gianni gave her the first bar of “Danny Boy”, and the crowd went silent. With an angel’s voice, Julianna sang the slow ballad acapella, closing her eyes and allowing the emotion of the lyrics to sweep over her features.

Richie looked over at his friends. Dave had his own eyes closed, and was lost in thought. Tico was just staring, with a star-struck expression on his face that made Richie chuckle. Jon met his eyes and arched a single eyebrow. Richie blew out a breath, and turned his attention back to the stage.

Julianna, oblivious to the reactions of the crowd, sang on. She sang of love, heartache, and pain as if they were her own personal demons. She knew how to reach the crowd and made it look effortless. Singing the last lines, she let some brogue thicken her voice, and the change in her voice was amazing. When she was done, she opened her eyes and scanned the room. There was hardly a dry eye in the house; especially among Mac and his friends. She made a small curtsey at the rousing applause, and rejoined her friends at the table. Richie stood, and wrapped Julianna in a hug.

“That was beautiful,” he said, and kissed her soundly. The crowd whooped and cheered louder, making them laugh. Mac came over to join them.

“Darling girl, that was prettier than ever,” he said, his accent melodious. He cast a critical eye on Richie. “So, would this here boy courting you, my dear?” Mac asked.

Julianna looked at Richie. “I don’t know if ‘courting’ is the right word, but yes, Da, we’re together.”

“Does your Mama approve?”

“Of course! Rich’s already been to dinner and made nice with Nonna. We had lunch with Mama just yesterday.”

Mac laughed, and turned to Richie. “If you can get Francesca on your side after just one evening, then, my boy, that’s good enough by me. If you haven’t figured us out yet, we look after our own. You take good care of our precious Jewel, and you’ll have loyal friends for life.” His face closed, growing serious. “Make her unhappy, though, and you’ll have the wrath of a thousand Irishmen to contend with.”

Jon laughed at the look on Richie’s face. He called out to his friend, “This is where you say ‘yes sir’ and sit down.”

Mac laughed at that, and clapped a hand on Jon’s back. “With your coloring and quick wit, boy, surely you must be one of us?”

“Regrettably not, Mac,” he answered. “I am, however, from fine Italian stock, like your dear friend’s wife, so I come by the wit honestly.”

Mac nodded. “Too true. Alright, then. Jewel, my girl, I’ll leave you to your men. Will I see you Wednesday at dinner?”

“Jeez, has it been a month already?” She shook her head. “Time flies. Yes, I’ll be there. It’s the last one for me for a while; at least until after opening night. Another couple of weeks, and I’ll be moving to the city for the duration.” She sighed, and gave Mac a smacking kiss on the cheek. “I’ll see you Wednesday, Da. Love you.”

“And I you, darling girl,” he replied.

Julianna’s brothers joined them. “You ready for the next stop?” Sal asked.

Julianna looked at the empty beer pitchers and food platters, and laughed. “I think we’ve done enough damage here. Da, will you let us pay?”

Mac just looked at her. “What do you think?”

Julianna sighed. “No, I didn’t think so. Alright boys, let’s get a move on. There’s more drinking to be done!” With that they left MacGuire’s for their next adventure.